Ice tends to build up on the exterior surfaces of vehicle windows in winter months. Ice build-up may be caused by snow, freezing rain, sleet, or the like in different instances. Ice impairs a vehicle driver's ability to adequately see through a vehicle window such as a windshield. Thus, it would be desirable to provide vehicle windows with an ice removal feature.
De-icing structures for vehicle windows are known in the art. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,075, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Unfortunately, the de-icing grid structure of the '075 patent is provided on the exterior surface of the vehicle window, and thus is easily susceptible to damage caused by the environment (e.g., corrosion and/or physical damage). Moreover, exposed electrodes which may be touched by persons are not desirable.
In view of the above, there exists a need in the art for a window (e.g., vehicle window) that is provided with an ice-removal structure or feature that is not entirely provided on the exterior surface of the window.